Col de la Bonette (el. 2715 m) is a high mountain pass in the French Alps, near the border with Italy. It is situated within the Mercantour National Park on the border of the departments of Alpes-Maritimes and Alpes-de-Haute-Provence. The road over the col is the seventh highest paved road in the Alps.

Col de Restefond

The passage over the Col de la Bonette is often mistakenly referred to as the Col de Restefond, and in the 2008 Tour de France the summit was referred to as the Cime de la Bonette-Restefond. Stage 16 of the tour approached the summit from Saint-Étienne-de-Tinée (south-east), and after reaching the Col de la Bonette, took a loop round the Cime de la Bonette reaching the summit of 2802 m, which is the highest point reached by the Tour de France, before re-passing the Col de la Bonette. On the descent to Jausiers, the actual Col de Restefond was then passed on the right approximately 1 km from the summit.

“Highest road in Europe”

The two kilometre long teardrop shaped loop around the Cime de la Bonette peak (2860 m) from either side of the pass is the highest paved through route in the Alps. The road around the Cime de la Bonette reaches an altitude of 2802 m, but this is not a "pass", but merely a scenic loop. It is, however, the highest asphalted road in France and is the highest through road in Europe.

Tour de France

The pass has featured in the Tour de France five times (1962, 1964, 1993, 2008, and 2024). In 1962 and 1964, the race was led over the summit in both years by Federico Bahamontes, approaching from the south in 1962 and from the north in 1964. Robert Millar led over the summit (from the north) in 1993. In 2008 John-Lee Augustyn led over the mountain (from the south), before falling on the descent to Jausiers.

Appearances in Tour de France